10 Life Skills Learned From Gymnastics

Republished from a blog excerpt published by Keri Monstrola 

Being a gymnast has many positive lessons that are taught outside of the sport. Being a gymnast myself for 12 years, it has taught me many life skills and lessons that I will use for the rest of my life. Many of these skills gymnasts learn through the daily grind in the gym. These life lessons will help each gymnasts grow as a person as well as a gymnast. Let us know what gymnastics has taught you! 

1. Discipline 

Discipline is taught very early within the sport of gymnastics. A gymnast needs to be able to have discipline in order to have success. Young gymnasts will miss out on many events outside of the gym if they are serious about the sport. Many boys and girls will miss birthday parties, sleepovers, school functions, etc. in order to be in the gym training. This requires the discipline to be able to stay focused on the goal and understanding it will pay off in the long run. 

2.Toughness
Many gymnasts experience injuries throughout their career. We learn as a gymnast how to be tough and push through pain, soreness, injury and defeat to develop toughness. Gymnasts will experience pain from small injuries, rips, learning new skills, conditioning, to serious injuries throughout their career.

3. Balance

Balance is key to having success within the sport of gymnastics. Balance and control within your body is important especially on the balance beam. However gymnastics teaches girls and boys how to have balance in their life. With many gymnasts putting in 20+ hours in the gym each week, balance with school, sleep, recovery and nutrition is important. 

4. Determination 
Another skill learned from gymnastics is determination. This sport requires gymnasts to learn how to be determined within the training. Gymnasts will need to be determined to learn new skills, face fears, accomplish goals, compete fearless and stay positive. 
 

5. Consistency

In order to be a successful gymnast, consistency is key. This is a life skill that will provide success within the real word no matter a gymnast’s career path. Consistency is learned from trying over and over and never giving up. Gymnasts strive to become a consistency competitor through hard work and training. 
 

6. Nutritional Values 

Nutrition, diet and strength are all very important in the sport of gymnastics. The sport of gymnastics teaches gymnasts how important it is to have a balanced diet in order to each their highest potential. Many coaches and clubs often ‘coach’ their gymnasts on how to eat and drink to stay healthy throughout their career. Gymnasts also learn the importance of strength. Strength and conditioning builds muscle and helps prevent injury to your body. Nutrition is also important during an injury to minimize the off time and regain strength quickly. 

7. Respect
Respect is a life skill that is taught each and every time a gymnast is in the gym. The relationship between a gymnast and a coach is built strongly off of respect. With respect comes trust from a coach to a gymnast. Gymnasts also learn respect from other competitors and gymnasts through their career. 
 

8. Dedication
Gymnastics is a sport that takes a lot of dedication from the athlete. This sport is very tough and demanding which takes a lot of hard work. This sport sees a lot of gymnastics quitting at times due to the dedication it takes. Gymnasts who succeed in this sport are 110% dedicated to gymnastics and their success.

9. Friendship

As a young child enters the sport of gymnastics they quickly become part of a team. Many gymnasts will train together for over 10 years throughout their gymnastics career. This time spent together gives gymnasts lots of time to build strong friendships and relationships with each other. Gymnastics is also a sport where gymnasts from other clubs, teams, and even countries will build strong friendships. These gymnasts will compete together and train together for years, leading to lifelong friendships. 

10. Teamwork 

Although gymnastics as times can be an individual sport, you learn great teamwork skills. Gymnasts often have a group of gymnasts that they train with and compete with to make up a team. NCAA gymnasts learn this very well as they become an important member of a team, where teamwork is necessary for success. 

If you are interested in exploring local gymnastics classes in the North Pittsburgh | Cranberry | Wexford, consider X-Cel Gymnastics.  Learn more at www.xcelgymnastics.com